The St. Louis Cardinals deserve better TV announcers than what they have. Dan McLaughlin and Al Hrabosky are the club's broadcast crew when games are on Fox Sports Midwest. Jay Randolph and Ricky Horton do the games when the teams games are shown on KSDK.
McLaughlin talks too much about everything but baseball. If he would tone it down and talk about the game or MLB in general he would be better than what he is. It also seems as if McLaughlin and Hrabosky apparently don't like each other and it sometimes comes across that way. Hrabosky has been doing the job as "analyst" for about five years and he doesn't seem to be getting any better at it. Maybe, Fox Sports Midwest will come up with some new talent next year.
On KSDK, Horton is adequate and is upbeat which helps to make him interesting. But, the play by play performed by Jay Randolph leaves a lot to be desired. Fact errors and omissions continue to plague him. I have tried several times to watch him call a game this summer and have had to turn it off and turn on the radio.
Speaking of the radio, John Rooney is one of the best sports play-by-play guys in the business and is a pleasure to listen to. He can make even the dullest of contests sound interesting and he is virtual fountain of information. He also does a great job of playing set up man to the comedy of Mike Shannon. Shannon will never be confused for a good color analyst, but he is humorous and after 30+ years the listener knows what he is getting.
Showing posts with label Cardinals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cardinals. Show all posts
September 07, 2009
September 20, 2007
Bye Bye Birdies
Ten days ago I wrote the St. Louis Cardinals were taunting their fans by playing poor baseball but still hanging around in the National League Central pennant race.
The Cardinals are no longer contenders and their season is done except for playing out the final week and a half of the season. Granted the primary reason for the collapse from their world championship last year to also rans this year is very simple; injuries. But in the past two weeks the Cardinals managed to lose eleven of 13 games to prove to the rest of the world just how bad they are. Some of the Redbirds are already just going through the motions.
It will be an interesting off season around the Cardinal front office. In the case of Tony LaRussa his imminent departure may be addition by subtraction. He has won two World Championships and I respect him for that. But, his personality and style leave much to be desired. He has insulted the intelligence of Cardinal fans, whom I believe to be the most knowledgeable in the nation. LaRussa continues to try and prove managers of the past 120 years wrong by hitting his pitcher eighth. And he must also be responsible for the demise of his pitching staff. He had a five man rotation that was struggling but winning. Then out of the blue he goes with a six man rotation and the Cards immediately started to lose. Hey Tony baseball isn't rocket science. You see the ball, you hit the ball. You pitch the ball, and you catch the ball.
If I were in General Manager Walt Jocketty's position I would make everyone available for trading this winter with three exceptions; Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright. But, it may be someone else who pulls the trigger on those trades. Jocketty is also said to be leaving with his buddy LaRussa at the end of the season.
The Cardinals are no longer contenders and their season is done except for playing out the final week and a half of the season. Granted the primary reason for the collapse from their world championship last year to also rans this year is very simple; injuries. But in the past two weeks the Cardinals managed to lose eleven of 13 games to prove to the rest of the world just how bad they are. Some of the Redbirds are already just going through the motions.
It will be an interesting off season around the Cardinal front office. In the case of Tony LaRussa his imminent departure may be addition by subtraction. He has won two World Championships and I respect him for that. But, his personality and style leave much to be desired. He has insulted the intelligence of Cardinal fans, whom I believe to be the most knowledgeable in the nation. LaRussa continues to try and prove managers of the past 120 years wrong by hitting his pitcher eighth. And he must also be responsible for the demise of his pitching staff. He had a five man rotation that was struggling but winning. Then out of the blue he goes with a six man rotation and the Cards immediately started to lose. Hey Tony baseball isn't rocket science. You see the ball, you hit the ball. You pitch the ball, and you catch the ball.
If I were in General Manager Walt Jocketty's position I would make everyone available for trading this winter with three exceptions; Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright. But, it may be someone else who pulls the trigger on those trades. Jocketty is also said to be leaving with his buddy LaRussa at the end of the season.
July 23, 2007
MLB and ESPN: The Dynamic Dummies
Once again Major League Baseball has screwed up big time. Bud and the boys made the Atlanta Braves play a night game last evening because it's all about the money. The Braves played an extra inning game with the St. Louis Cardinals that didn't start until eight o'clock local time. The game then lasted three and a half hours.
What's wrong with this you ask? Well for starters the Braves were scheduled months ago to travel cross country to San Francisco after their game with the Cardinals. The game should have started at the regular one o'clock the Braves always play on Sunday. But, noooooo. MLB and ESPN wanted the ratings bang of the Cards and Braves to jack up miserable ratings. So, the Braves now have to start a west coast road trip in which they didn't get to their hotels until the sun was coming up in San Francisco. Great job of screwing the Braves, MLB. Of course ESPN is also to blame since they push Bud and the boys around like they own them, which come to think of it, they pretty much do.
What's wrong with this you ask? Well for starters the Braves were scheduled months ago to travel cross country to San Francisco after their game with the Cardinals. The game should have started at the regular one o'clock the Braves always play on Sunday. But, noooooo. MLB and ESPN wanted the ratings bang of the Cards and Braves to jack up miserable ratings. So, the Braves now have to start a west coast road trip in which they didn't get to their hotels until the sun was coming up in San Francisco. Great job of screwing the Braves, MLB. Of course ESPN is also to blame since they push Bud and the boys around like they own them, which come to think of it, they pretty much do.
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